Larry Hughes: Top-10 fantasy player and best
ball hawk in the business

Kevin Garnett: Yes, it's sacrilege, but if the
knee becomes problematic, you must consider dealing.

Kobe Bryant: You can bet his pride will drive
L.A. toward postseason run and he has 32 games after break.

Steve Nash: Mavs have let him wear down in seasons
past. Suns not likely to make that mistake. And team only has 28 post-break
games.

Kirk Hinrich: A top-five point guard, though
few realize it. And he has more post-All Star games (33) than anyone.

Shaquille O'Neal: Heat's cushion for top seed
in East may allow him to rest down the stretch. Mourning's arrival, knee
scare could also limit time.

Andrei Kirilenko: Like Hughes, his prowess in
one category (blocks) gives him awesome overall value.

Jason Kidd: If Nets can't hang in an Atlantic
race that's gotten tougher, Kidd's a good candidate to be shut down late
in the season.

Gamers

With the fantasy playoffs in the near future, games
played becomes a critical category. As you make your playoff push, give
stronger consideration to players on teams with more games left. Three
games of Hinrich or Emeka Okafor in a given week can make all the difference
over two games of Garnett or Nash. (Games remaining after All-Star
break)

It's easy to be seduced by a player's
most prominent stats  his points, rebounds and assists. It takes a
keener eye to notice that the difference between 2.8 steals and 1.4 steals
is essentially the same difference between 28 points and 14 points. It takes
an even wiser player to properly assess a player's shooting ability and
turnover rate without being swayed by points and rebounds. Some things to
consider when weighing a player on the nine-category vs. five-category scales:

The nine-cat leap: Philadelphia's Kyle Korver and Phoenix's Quentin
Richardson are prime examples of players who are vastly better players
in nine-category leagues. Korver looks pretty worthless in a five-cat
league and his scoring (11.6 ppg) and steals (1.21 spg) are the only semi-attractive
numbers. Richardson is a decent scorer (16.1 ppg) and an excellent rebounder
for a swingman (6.6 rpg) but a poor assist man (2.1 apg)  overall,
essentially an ordinary player.

But Richardson hits more three-pointers per game (3.13) than anyone in
the NBA and his catch-and-shoot style keeps his turnover rate (1.35) minimal.
He's so good in these areas that his horrendous FG% (38.8) doesn't hurt.
Korver falls into the same category (2.83 threes per game, 1.28 turnovers)
and is one of the NBA's best free-throw shooters (87.7%).

In general, the league's better shooters tend to make this leap. It even
applies to a lesser degree to well-known stars like Ray Allen and Peja
Stojakovic. Since few big men shoot it from deep, few are able to make
an appreciable jump.

The nine-cat flop: Ben Wallace and Jermaine O'Neal are examples
of players who trend the other way. Both are five-category studs, O'Neal
because he scores, rebounds and blocks shots and Wallace because he rebounds,
steals and blocks shots.

But O'Neal loses a lot of value in nine-category leagues because he doesn't
hit three-pointers and turns the ball over a great deal, committing more
than three per game. Wallace doesn't handle the ball well enough to turn
it over much, but most people know that he can't hit treys and is abysmal
from the stripe (42%) and not great from the floor (45%).

Guards who don't have three-point range but handle the ball a lot can
also plummet in nine-cat leagues. Dwyane Wade and Steve Francis are prime
examples.

Three case studies:Heat: Shaq and Wade rule in five-cat leagues; in nine-cat leagues,
the Jones boys (Eddie and Damon) give the superstars a run for their
money.Suns: Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash (scoring and assist machines,
respectively) get most of the ink in Phoenix. Versatile players Shawn
Marion and Quentin Richardson are both better options in nine-category
leagues because they don't punt in any category.Kings: Five cats? Chris Webber was your man. Nine cats? Peja
Stojakovic, Brad Miller and Mike Bibby are all better. Peja makes the
greatest leap, a 150% better player if shooting counts.

FANTASY TIDBITS

Eastern
Conference

Western
Conference

Al Harrington has not justified preseason
hype but with Walker gone, this becomes his team. ... Gary Payton's playing
for a new deal and should have carte blanche on this squad. ... Shot-blocker
Josh Smith quietly had a solid first half; he'll improve. ... Watch Josh
Childress.

Michael Finley is nothing special in five-category
leagues; he is special in nine-category leagues. ... Jason Terry has figured
out the offense and is shooting the lights out. ... Van Horn won't likely
be a factor. ... Howard and Daniels will get more time with Dampier out
and Nowitzki in the pivot.

Tyson Chandler is a quiet fantasy stud
in the mold of Marcus Camby. ... If you don't need scoring, you don't need
Ben Gordon. ... Chris Duhon still a nice source of assists.

Believe it or not, Bob Sura and David
Wesley have comparable value to Yao Ming in nine-category leagues. ... McGrady
back to being a top-five fantasy player. ... Mike James fills in while Sura's
back heals.

Wade's great, but no one turns it over
more ... except Kobe. ... Alonzo Mourning will likely not take too many
of Udonis Haslem's minutes but could get some of Shaq's. But expect Mourning
to take a fair amount of DNP-CDs.

Eddie Griffin still second-best fantasy
player on this squad. ... Deadeye shooter Fred Hoiberg can help in deep,
nine-cat leagues. ... If Sam Cassell doesn't heal and Troy Hudson keeps
struggling, Anthony Carter could get keys to the offense.

Perhaps the biggest fantasy black hole
in the NBA. ... Diamond in rough? Maurice Williams with Mike James departed.

Not much to talk about beyond Jason Kidd
and Vince Carter. But Cliff Robinson has a chance to change that.

Nash's minutes could decline down the
stretch and Jimmy Jackson may be the main beneficiary. ... Steven Jackson
a nice source of blocks.

Kurt Thomas still one of the best players
that few people know, especially if he qualifies at center. ... Jamal Crawford
is Marbury's equal in nine-cat leagues. ... Sweetney should get a shot at
the four.

Could be one of the most fluid fantasy
situations in the second half, so watch carefully. Rahim's return impacts
minutes of Ratliff, Przybilla. Free agents Stoudamire, Van Exel may lose
time to Telfair at the end.

Steve Francis loses a lot of value in
nine-cat leagues, though TOs may drop if Jameer Nelson starts running point.
... Cato may be team's second-best fantasy player if he can stay in the
lineup.

Webber's departure could restore Stojakovic
to MVP-caliber status. Miller will add points, rebounds. .... Mike Bibby
may be most underrated PG in the league  great assist-to-turnover
ratio.

Webber makes team better but knee must
be monitored. C-Webb may mean more points, fewer assists for A.I. ... Korver's
value in nine-cat leagues almost on par with Iverson's.

It's not about the stats with the Spurs,
it's about wins. And beyond Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, there are few stats
to be found. ... Nazr Mohammed's value falls from little to zero as he backs
up Nesterovic.

Chris Bosh continues to take off in life
after V.C. ... Rafer Alston continues to display Artest-like instability.
... Mo Peterson a nice long-range option.

Luke Ridnour may be catching up to Kirk
Hinrich after lost rookie season. ... Reggie Evans a rebounding monster
that few know about.

Not much to talk about outside of the
big three. But Brendan Haywood can help at center and Kwame Brown remains
a wild card.

Mehmet Okur probably third-most reliable
option on this team and his value is boosted by center-eligibility. ...
Most of roster will remain a crapshoot.